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General Salem Towne 






ADDRESSES 

AT THE 

UNVEILING OF THE PORTRAIT OF 

General Salem Towne 

PRESENTED 
TO THE TOWN OF CHARLTON 

BY 

Judge Stephen P. Twiss 

OF KANSAS CITY 

IN 

DEXTER MEMORIAL HALL 

CHARLTON, MASS. 
September 6, 1909 






Charlton Old Home Day. 

The exercises of the day began at two p. m. 
at Dexter Memorial hall. Geo. R. Wakefield, 
of Spencer, president of the Charlton reunion 
and old home day association presided and wel- 
comed the large gathering. He said four years 
ago when this hall was given to the town by its 
generous donor, W. H. Dexter, it was named 
the Dexter Memorial hall, and at that time the 
idea was conceived of making it in a broader 
sense a memorial hall by adorning its walls with 
portraits of men prominent in the history of the 
town. The first year the picture of Mr. Dexter 
was placed in the building and last year we were 
presented with a panel cabinet of photographs 
of the five Towne brothers, appropriately framed, 
the gift of Horace A. Towne, of Minneapolis, 
Minn. This year another memorial is to be pre- 
sented to the town and it is hoped that there 
may be other similar gifts to follow. 

Prayer was offered by Rev. Frederick D. 
Thayer of Dudley. 

President Wakefield then introduced as the 
chairman of the day Hon. Rufus B. Dodge of 
Worcester, who after a few preliminary remarks 
voicing the sentiment of all present at being able 
to have again with us this year the town's bene- 
factor, W. H. Dexter, of Worcester, the donor 
of the beautiful building in which the exercises 
were being held, called upon Mr. Dexter, who 
spoke briefly. 




GEORGE R. WAKEFIELD 




William H. Dexter 



Address of W. H. Dexter. 

1 am very thankful that I am able to be pres- 
ent at another home gathering this Labor Day. 
It is very pleasant as T have said before for those 
of us that live away to come back to our native 
town at least once a year, where we were born 
and spent our childhood days, among the happi- 
est days of our lives. Judge Twiss presenting 
to the town a portrait of Gen. Salem Towne re- 
minds me of some of the leading men of the town 
wdien 1 was a boy. There was Dr. Lamb, Dr. 
Fay, Gen. Towne, Major Spurr and others in the 
center. Harvey Dresser at Dresser Hill and John 
P. Marble at the north side who lived to be nine- 
ty-seven or ninety-eight years old, kept the hotel 
and store there and Captain Aaron Willard. Capt. 
Sim, Lamb, Franklin Farnum, the Carpenters, 
Dodges and many others in the City, all good 
reliable citizens. Some that have followed on 
after them have done as much if not more to 
make Worcester what it now is as any other 
town in the country. We are pleased to have 
Judge Twiss with us here today. He has come a 
good ways to see his native town once more and 
be with us at this gathering. 1 remember when 
he commenced practicing law in Worcester and 
I heard one of his first arguments before a jury. 
It was a strong argument. 



Address of Rev. Lewis W. Hicks. 

Major General Salem Towne, whose por- 
trait, through the thoughtfulness and liberality 
of Judge Stephen P. Twiss, is henceforth to adorn 
the walls of this beautiful building, came of good 
old New England stock; stock which, by the way, 
produced three other men, natives of Charlton, 
whose success in the business world has added 
no little to the reputation of this goodly town- 
ship, viz: Daniel Phillips, Moses Phillips and 
Alban N. Towne, all four having descended from 
William Towne, who, with his wife and six chil- 
dren, came over from Yarmouth, England, 
about the year 1640 and settled in Salem, Massa- 
chusetts; from which place, in 1652, he removed 
to Topsfield in the same state. General Towne, 
who was the seventh in descent from William, 
was of the fourth generation from John Towne, 
the so-called "Nestor of the new settlement in 
Oxford," who was chosen town clerk and select- 
man at the first town meeting that was held in 
that settlement and continued to occupy promi- 
nent positions and to have the confidence of the 
com m unit}' during the remainder of his days. 
( reneral Towne's great grandfather, Jonathan, 
was a deacon of the Oxford Church, and his 
father, after whom he was named, was a very 
noted man in his day. It is related of him that 
when the news came of the battle of Lexington 
he was quick to respond to the call to arms. On 
the morning of the twentieth of April, 1775, he 
was <m his way at the head of his company to- 
wards the scene of the previous day's conflict. He 
became the quartermaster of his regiment and 




Rev. Lewis W. hicks 



fulfilled the exacting" duties of the office with 
credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his 
companions in arms. He rose to the position of 
major-general of militia, was a member of the 
Constitutional Convention of 1780, represented 
his town in the Massachusetts Legislature, and 
was otherwise useful as a leading citizen of Ox- 
ford. 

The mother of our General Towne was 
Ruth Moore, whose grandfather was an influen- 
tial citizen of Oxford and whose father was a 
deputy sheriff. 

Of others of General Towme's ancestors 
much might he said, but only one fact more need 
be noted, that on the day of his birth bis grand- 
mother walked on snow shoes from Oxford to 
Charlton, presumably to welcome the expected 
little stranger to the town which he was destined 
to honor by a noble life. 

Born in Charlton on the 26th day of 
March, 1780, of the goodly stock referred to, 
Salem Towne naturally inherited traits of charac- 
ter that were likely to serve him well in the bat- 
tle of life. To this rich inheritance he added such 
habits of industry and profited so well by the 
lessons of patriotism which were instilled in his 
mind by his forbears, that he became one of the 
most useful and distinguished of all the good and 
great men who first saw the light in this clean 
hill town of old Massachusetts. Of what stuff 
he was made appears in the authentic account 
of what he did when a young man in the adjoin- 
ing town of Southbridge, William L. Marcv, a 
wild youth of that town, who was considered by 
the neighbors to be the very worst boy in the 
community, succeeded, in conjunction with boon 



companions, in ousting the teacher from the dis- 
trict school. Under stress of the emergency 
young Salem Towne, of Charlton, was hired to 
fill out the unexpired school term. It was pre- 
dicted by the knowing ones that the young 
teacher would certainly have trouble with Bill 
Marcy. Not a day had passed, however, before 
this intrepid teacher had found some good in the 
wild boy and he told the surprised youth of his 
discovery. From that hour a change came over 
the young fellow. Some one had seen good in 
him. As a consequence he determined to make 
good; which he forthwith began to do. Such 
indeed was his conduct thereafter, and so great 
was his progress in his studies, that he was ad- 
vised by his teacher to prepare for college. His 
parents were surprised by the suggestion, but on 
the earnest solicitation of Mr. Towne they finally 
gave their consent and the young man went on 
towards the goal of his new ambition, attending 
preparatory schools and finally entering Brown 
University, from which institution he was gradu- 
ated in 1808. Many years after, the Honorable 
William L. Marcy, who, as you are aware, be- 
came Secretary of War under President Polk 
and Secretary of State under President Pierce, 
visited Boston as the guest of the governor of 
Massachusetts. 

Salem Towne was among those who were 
invited to meet the distinguished guest. When 
the governor saw Mr. Marcy and General Towne 
greet one another as old friends he expressed his 
surprise that they knew each other so well. 
"Why," said Air. Marcy, "that is the man that 
made me. When 1 was a boy, everybody was 
against me; none, no, not even my own father 

6 



and mother saw any good in me. He was the 
first one who believed in me, told me what I 
might become and helped me on in life at that 
critical period. Whatever of merit or distinction 
I have attained to I owe to him more than to 
any living person." In this story of his treat- 
ment of young Marcy there is not only revealed 
the kindliness and tactfulness which were dis- 
tinguishing" characteristics of General Towne's 
makeup, but there are also exhibited two thing's 
which served to make his life of especial service 
to his fellow men. 1 refer to his interest in 
young people and to his efforts in the cause of 
education. We boys always felt that General 
Towne was interested in us. He recognized us, 
treated us with consideration, showed a disposi- 
tion to help us in any way that he could; and 
thus encouraged us, as he had encouraged Bill 
Marcy, to do the best we could for ourselves. 
It was no fault of his that some of the rest of us 
did not go to the United States Senate or be- 
come secretaries of state under some of our late 
presidents. A corollary of his interest in the 
young was his interest in the cause of educa- 
tion; which not only showed itself in what he did 
to make the schools of Charlton what they ought 
to be, but also in a larger way by his co-operating 
with others in the founding of Amherst College, 
of which he was for years a trustee, and whose 
commencements he was in the habit of attend- 
ing, going to the beautiful college town in his 
own conveyance during the years of his material 
prosperity, as became a man of his station. 

It was quite natural that having had a father 
who had attained the rank of major-general and 
having been born so near the stirring times of 



his young" nation's history he should take a deep 
interest in military affairs. Connecting himself 
with the Massachusetts militia he rose by succes- 
sive steps to the highest honor, that of major- 
general, which could be conferred upon one of 
its members. That he was prepared to face dan- 
ger in behalf of his country and that he was re- 
garded as equal to grave responsibilities appears 
from the fact that during the War of 1812 he 
was stationed as colonel of his regiment in South 
Boston, on the very spot where Washington 
planted his batteries when he drove the enemy 
from Boston during the Revolution, it being con- 
jectured that the British might attack the city. 
We have good authority for the statement that 
while there he was temporarily in command of 
a brigade. That he would have accredited him- 
self with honor had he been called upon to meet 
the enemy in battle we have no reason to doubt. 
That he won the admiration and love of those 
under his command we may well rest assured, 
for who "knew him but to love him," who 
"named him but to praise?" 

Of what he was to this, his native place, it 
would be difficult to tell, so deeply was he in- 
terested in whatever appertained to its well being 
and so wide was the influence which he personally 
exerted upon the life of the community. Besides 
taking, as I have said, an active interest in the 
conduct of Charlton's schools, he represented the 
town in the State Legislature and threw the 
weight of his influence on the side of every move- 
ment that appealed to him as looking to the ma- 
terial, moral and spiritual welfare of his fellow 
citizens. He is said to have brought into Charl- 
ton the Holderness breed of cattle, which was a 



decided improvement over the then native stock. 
That his Porter apples tasted about the best of 
any that have ever entered my mouth, even 
though the_\- did come into my possession as 
gift rather than as an unauthorized loan, I grate- 
fully hear witness, as I do to the good taste of 
others of his fruits which brightened the home 
of my invalid mother. In him indeed was ex 
hibited the very best type of American citizen- 
ship — a type that has made these hill towns of 
the old Bay State luminous with influence and 
unique in their ability to raise men competent 
to fill positions of trust and responsibility in city, 
state and nation, a type that has made the state 
of Massachusetts the power that it has ever been 
since the organization of our federal government. 
But I believe that we have not yet reached 
that part of General Towne's life which made its 
chief impress upon those who, in the various 
walks of life, were so fortunate as to he in any 
way associated with him. It was not so much by 
what he directly accomplished either as a military 
man or as a man of affairs, that he exerted his 
widest and most lasting influence in the com- 
munity that held him in honor to the da}- of 
his death and mourned for him as for a per- 
sonal friend when he had passed away. That 
deep and abiding influence came through what 
he was as a man of the finest type, who lived 
a life in his family and before the community 
that was expressive of true dignity, of a high 
sense of honor, of attractive virtue and ol 
gracious kindness. To see him in his home 
in the company of his estimable wife, nee Sarah, 
daughter of General John Spurr, whom he mar- 
ried in 1804, or in later years with his attrac- 

9 



live and devoted daughter; or to share for any 
length of time his hospitality, which was al- 
ways so generous and so winsome, was to 
treasure up in the memory a recollection that 
time could never efface. The rare blending of 
dignity and kindness in his personality was 
something to win for him both the respect and 
love of all who were so fortunate as to be brought 
close to him. And what he was in his hospitable 
home that he also was in a large measure as he 
moved out among his associates in the common 
walks of life. He was a man to be looked at as 
he passed you by; yes, a man to be felt. There 
was a benediction in his presence. An influence 
for good emanated from him. I will go as far as 
to say that there is scarcely a person of all the 
natives of Charlton who, having been born be- 
tween the years 1800 and 1862, or later, and hav- 
ing acquired any prominence in the w r orld, would 
not testify that his young life had, to some ap- 
preciable degree, been influenced for good by the 
life and example of General Towne. He was one 
to stimulate a boy to live a good life, if ever 
there was such a man. Indeed he was a person 
to incite all with whom he came in contact to live 
lives worthy of their better selves. And he was a 
man to win respect for the possibilities of his 
species. Xot inappropriately might the language 
of the great English dramatist be applied to him: 

"His life was gentle; and the elements 

So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up, 

And say to all the world, This was a man." 

Tt is therefore eminently fitting that a man 
who did so much to bring honor to Charlton in 
his life time and who was so highly respected 

10 



and deep]}- loved by the people of his native 
place and beyond, should be made known to 
succeeding generations; that his life may con- 
tinue to be influential for good, and of especial 
service to the young people of this goodly town- 
ship. 

I doubt not that it was to realize this de- 
sirable end, as well as to honor the memory of 
' reneral Salem Towne and to express his own in- 
debtedness to and affection for Charlton's grand 
old man. that Judge Stephen P. Twiss, himself 
an eminent son of Charlton, has had painted, by 
a distinguished artist, this striking likeness, for 
presentation to his native place, to be hung on 
the walls of this building which so eloquently 
speaks of the loyalty of another of the sons of 
Charlton for the place of his birth. It is a 
worth) gift. It does honor both to the subject 
of the painting and to the donor. In turning it 
over to you, who are to receive it in the town's 
behalf, may I not voice the wish that this splen- 
did portrait may indeed serve to do for the com- 
ing youth of Charlton something similar to that 
which good and great General Towne did 
through his splendid personality while he was 
living. May it incite to earnest endeavor, to 
worth}- living, to successful and honorable 
achievement. If it shall thus do, it will. I am 
sure, have best realized the purpose which the 
generous giver conceived in his heart when he 
determined to present this appropriate gift to 
the place of his nativity. 



11 



Address by Hon. R. B. Dodge. 

The citizens of Charlton gratefully accept 
from the generous hands of Judge Twiss a por- 
trait of Gen. Salem Towne. Of Charlton's well 
known sons he was one of the most highly re- 
spected, whose memory succeeding generations 
have not overlooked, but like the everlasting 
monument it is known of all and in all points the 
way to a useful life full of kindly acts, clothed 
with a charming dignity, and crowned by the in- 
tegrity which from his fellows commanded im- 
perial respect. He belonged to the old school of 
country gentlemen, whose natural courtesy was 
as much a part of himself as were the benignant 
features of his countenance. 

Here upon the walls of this building, dedi- 
cated to the use of all, shall this likeness of a be- 
loved man remain, here to remind all of the sterl- 
ing qualities which make a man honored in his 
own home. 

For this gift, a work of art, we give Judge 
Twiss our hearty thanks. His course has been 
an honor to Charlton and now, in his declining 
years as he turns to the place of his birth with 
kindly thought, may the peace and happiness of 
a fruitful life be his to the end. 



Rev. Lewis W. Hicks, of Wellesley, was 
called upon to make the formal presentation of 
the picture to the town. The portrait done in 
oils was the work of a Kansas City artist and 
beautifully framed. It occupied a conspicuous 
position on an easel at the left of the stage. 

12 




HON. RUFUS B. DODGE 




REV. FRANK S. BREWER 



The Influence of a Great Man in a 
Community. 

Address by Rev. Frank Sherman Brewer. 

We do not claim for Salem Towne rank 
among the nation's heroes, lie is not honored 
for conspicuous service to either the state or the 
nation, like Washington, Grant or Lincoln. And 
yet we do claim that he was a truly great man. 

There is much misunderstanding as to the 
conditions of membership in this Hall of Fame, 
of which we are speaking, that is, the great men 
in a small community. Obviously, certain con- 
ditions act as a barrier to membership. No man 
is ever considered great by his immediate neigh- 
bors, for the sole reason that he has obtained 
riches, or that he has the faculty of making 
money. High political honor at the hands of the 
state or nation does not suffice to enroll a man 
in this Hall of Fame. Social prestige does not 
give him the right of entrance thereto. There 
are many false standards that obtain recognition 
for a while but the}' will not stand the test of 
time. Bradford Torrey has given in a recent 
periodical this definition of fame: "Fame is a 
plant that blossoms on graves, as a manual of 
such botany might say, 'A late flowering peren 
nial, nowhere common, to be looked for in old 
cemeteries.' " 

But Salem Towne has other qualities that 
entitled him to recognition anion-- Charlton's 
heroes, than those of the simple inscription on 
the monument in yonder cemetery. We are con- 

13 



fining our thought today to the local community, 
and we are asking ourselves the question, Who 
is the truly great man there? The man to whom 
the small boy looks up, as his ideal of manhood, 
the beau-ideal of the young woman, the one man 
to whom the entire community turns to make a 
speech and to welcome the stranger when a dis- 
tinguished visitor comes, the man par excellence, 
of the whole community. Who is that man and 
why is be so distinguished? 

No man can rise to that position today and 
could even less seventy-five years ago, unless he 
be first of all a man of integrity. "Never heard 
a word said against his integrity." That is a 
great thing to say about an}- man and that was 
said of Salem Towne in this community during 
his entire life-time of ninety-two years. We are 
giving a man high praise when we say that he is 
a man of sterling integrity, a man whom his 
neighbors trusted, to whose care came large 
business interests and there is not a single in- 
tance, so far as we know, where even a breath of 
scandal rested upon his name in business rela- 
tions. 

This is very different from the career of the 
son of one of America's greatest benefactors, a 
gifted hymn writer. Samuel ( i. Smith is the son 
of Samuel Francis Smith, the author of "My 
Country, 'Tis of Thee," the one hymn that has 
been accepted by all the people for these main 
years as our national hymn. Samuel ( r. Smith 
left his \\'\\ England home and in early man- 
hood went to Davenport, Iowa, where he rose 
steadily into places of power and influence, lie 
became a banker, a philanthropist; he was the 
chief citizen; he was a church-man, trustee of es 

14 



tates, the head of a large number of charitable 
organizations. The entire communtiy trusted 
him, so that when his downfall came, the shock 
to the community was something terrific. The 
disclosure revealed the fact that he was guilty 
of larceny, large and small stealings from estates 
that had been entrusted to his care, even stealing 
from the wife of his dead coachman. All Daven- 
port was stunned by the news. The church suf- 
fered a severe blow; he was the ex-president of 
the .state bankers' association, and the vice-presi- 
dent of the Iowa Sons of the Revolution, and the 
downfall of no other man in the State of Iowa 
could have brought a greater feeling of chagrin 
and loss of confidence than was caused by this 
man's downfall. The fact that he went to prison 
five years ago, a man nearly seventy years of 
age, and came out just the other day, and that 
he fell dead on the streets of Toronto, has little 
to do with his life story. llis influence was 
ended and his fame as a good man was buried 
fathoms deep by his conduct in Davenport. 

The man of integrity is the man who does 
not make money his God, does not bow down 
to it nor serve it. And yet we find at the pres- 
ent time that there are main who do this very 
thing. Young men have false ideals of life as is 
illustrated by the fact that the schools of min- 
ing, engineering, manufacturing, are filled with 
those whose thoughts are centered upon the big- 
stakes of life. A sense- of the power and luxury 
of money has seized our people. The fact that 
great fortunes like $40,000,000 are made in a sin 
gle day have corrupted the imaginations of our 
young men. The Alton steal by Ilarriman, by 
which the road was robbed of $26,000,000 is a c 

15 



in point. These great prizes of money dazzle the 
eyes of our youth and the}- forget that such giant 
prizes are won only at the expense of integrity, 
of soul-life. No wonder that Harriman is a 
broken-down old man at the age of 59, begging 
the reporters to keep away from his home. This 
greed for money keeps young men out of the 
callings where high ideals and small remunera- 
tions are expected. Young men today do not 
take to the practice of law or medicine or the 
ministry as they did a few years ago, and this 
is due to a poverty of ideals and the sad thing 
about it is, that to them there is no shame in 
their poverty. Those were halcyon days in our 
country's life when a young man like Agassiz, 
the scientist, had no time to make money, as he 
said, when he refused $500 for a single night's 
lecture. Charles Sumner declined to lecture at 
any price as his time belonged to Massachusetts 
as its senator. Spurgeon, one of England's 
greatest preachers, refused to come to America, 
preferring to stay in London, that he might save 
a few souls. Emerson showed a fine idealism 
that is much needed today when he spurned an 
opportunity to receive a salary of more than 
$1200 a year for it would take away his time 
for thinking. 

A second requisite for our village hero is 
that the man should be a man of kind heart and 
take an interest in others. The published brief 
biographies of General Towne say that he "was 
not extraordinary in either intellectual or cul- 
tivated ability," "that he was a man of fair cul- 
ture, and general understanding, but somewhat 
remarkable in his kindness of heart and genial 
temperament," and that "for these qualities he 
was conspicuous." 

1G 



if. 



General Towne is known as a discoverer of 

young men. as instanced in the case of William 
P. Marcy (the account of which Mr. Hicks has 
already given us). The man who gives the por 
trait today is another illustration of the fact that 
General Towne is entitled to this honor that is, 
a discoverer of young men, and Judge Twiss is 
making what he terms to be a feeble attempt to 
pay the debt that he owes to General Salem 
Towne. We do not know what others owe to 
him, whose names are not familiar to us, hut a 
man who was the discoverer of young men in 
those days or at the present, is no ordinary kind 
of a man. Please notice the qualities by which he 
was distinguished, and which led him to take a 
special interest in young men, such as kindness of 
heart, doing good, a useful man, always gain- 
ing friends but never losing them. And when 
you can say these things of the most prominent 
man in town, you are paying high tribute of 
praise. Take, for instance, General Towne's 
interest in education, and see him as he is one 
of the petitioners who is suing the General 
Court for the charter of Amherst College. He 
becomes a trustee, and holds that position for 
21 years. He is a generous giver to her funds, 
making a contribution at one time of $500, which 
was a large sum of money ninety years ago. lie 
is made chairman of the charity fund of Amherst 
college, which fund was then regarded as the 
true foundation of the college, lie visits the 
college annually, riding with his own horse and 
chaise. His love for young men led him to take 
this interest in education, long after he Stopped 
being a school teacher. General Towne had thai 
loving interest in boys that enabled him to place 

17 



his hand upon the shoulder of the young" man 
and bid him make something of himself. We 
little realize how much hoys are looking" to older 
men for counsel, direction, encouragement, and 
even rebuke. Do you, realize what it means to 
have a respected man, whom all the community 
honors, look you up in your boarding place, take 
notice of you before you leave home, and give you 
wise counsel? That is what Gen. Salem Towne 
did, and that is why we are here today, celebrat- 
ing" his memory. 

Again, General Towne took a keen interest 
in social and political questions. He was a 
strong temperance advocate. At the time of the 
Washingtonian movement in our country, a 
strong temperance tidal wave swept over Charl- 
ton. It was at a time then as now, when men 
were obliged to take sides and the man who 
dared to defy public sentiment and stand for total 
abstinence, subjected himself to much ridicule. 
General Towne was misunderstood, belied, and 
his motives impugned, but he stuck to his belief 
that total abstinence as a practice was best for 
individuals, and best for the community, and he 
lived long enough to see his views fully vindi- 
cated. 

In politics, he became a staunch Whig, and 
stuck to the principles of the Whig party because 
they meant progress by state and nation in the 
matter of internal improvements. His interests 
were nation wide and were not limited simply 
to the local affairs of the town of Charlton or of 
the State of Massachusetts. 

< icneral Towne had more to do, probably, 
than any other one man in giving Charlton a 
railroad, which shows his progressiveness. Such 

18 



men are worth more to the town, state and na- 
tion, than the discoverer of the North Pole, or 
the inventor of a flying machine, for the influence 
of a great and good man goes on long after he is 
dead and he will be remembered for what he 
was as well as what he did. 

"1 low e'er it he, it seems to me 

'Tis only noble t<> be good ; 
Kind hearts are more than coronets, 

And simple faith than Norman blood," 

Lastly, Gen. Towne was a religious man of 
intelligent and deep convictions. To be sure, 
he did not join the church until he was past four 
score. J lis long life and habits of devotion are 
evidences of his religious character. I am told 
that he was the first superintendent of the first 
Sunday School in Charlton; he was always a 
regular and generous financial supporter of the 
church and for twenty-five years its foremost 
worker; he was always present in his pew on 
Sunday, if he was in town, and 1 cannot but 
think, judging by what he said as he stood up on 
the day that be joined the church, that be would 
have joined it much earlier if be bad realized 
bow great bis influence was. 

True religion is the crown of a man's life. 
Without it he is undeveloped, at least on one 
side of bis nature and that the most important. 
Me is dwarfed in bis moral and spiritual life. 
Without religion to support and comfort, no man 
can find bis way around in this universe. With- 
out it, be cannot reach the highesl joys, cannot 
have the deepesl pleasure, nor see the best things. 

This i^ an age of toleration and that is good. 
lint it is also an indifferent age, a neglectful age 

19 



We ought to have toleration for the sincere opin- 
ions of others, however much they may differ 
from ours, but neglect of religious acts and duties 
is a different thing. Men think today that they 
can be just as good at home, as they would be if 
they went to church. They consider themselves 
"pretty good already," and blandly question, 
"What more can you ask?" But this is unlike 
the spirit of Gen. Towne, who never thought of 
himself as pretty good already, or good as the 
average, or as one who didn't need to go to 
church. 

Gen. Towne was a participant in the church 
services, so far as he was able. He was not a 
singer and made no claim to any musical ability, 
but when old Coronation was given out, 

All hail the power of Jesus' name 
he joined in with such vigor and evident sym- 
pathy with the thought of the hymn, that all in 
the house knew he was there, and no one who 
heard him at such times ever forgot his zeal and 
enlivened manner. 

A great man must inspire by his character, 
which is a man's solid worth. Nothing but char- 
acter can make any lasting impression upon 
others. Wealth, education, political favor, social 
prominence — all these things are insignificant 
when compared to character as a molding force 
in the life of the community. The principal busi- 
ness of a town is to raise men. Charlton's glory 
is not her hills, beautiful though they are, nor 
her lovely valleys, but rather her chief glory is 
men, the kind of men raised here. It is not her 
manufacturing nor her farms, it is not her past, 
nor her present, nor her future; it is not her 
monuments that have been erected here, but 

20 



rather it is her men, the men of integrity, of light 
and leading that she has reared, that we most 
gratefully remember. 

Yet me use the following poem written by 
the Bishop of Exeter, England, but slightly 
changed for our need today: 

( rive us men! 

Men — from every rank. 

Fresh and free and frank: 
Men of thought and reading, 
.Men of light and leading. 
Men of loyal breeding. 
Freedom's welfare speeding; 
Men of faith and not of faction, 
Men of lofty aim and action : 

( rive us men — I say again, 
( rive tis men ! 

Give us men ! 

Strong and stalwart ones; 
Men whom highest hope inspires, 
Men whom purest honor tires. 
Men who trample Self beneath them. 
Men who make their country wreath them 

As her noble sons. 

Worthy of their sires ! 
Men who never shame their mothers. 
Men who never fail their brothers, 
True, however false are others: 

Give us men — I say again 
( rive us men ! 

( rive us men ! 
Men who, when the tempest gathers. 
Grasp the standard of their fathers. 
In the thickest fight : 

21 



Men who strike for home and altar, 
(Let the coward cringe and falter), 

God defend the right ! 
True as truth, though lorn and lonely, 
Tender — as the brave are only; 
Men who tread where saints have trod, 
Men for country — home — and God: 

Give us men ! I say again — again — 
Give us such men ! 

We cannot have too much sweetness of life, 
too much gentleness, too much toleration, but, 
we need men today who stand for something 
positive. Of all things that destroy character 
and unfit for usefulness, the greatest is a religious 
indifference and a proud spirit that is unwilling 
to bow before the great white throne! 

The picture I have tried to draw is that of a 
life-long citizen of Charlton, a man of integrity, 
a man who took a keen interest in others, a re- 
ligious man. These things entitle General Salem 
Towne to a place in the foremost ranks of those 
whose memory is cherished here. 



Note. — During Mr. Brewer's address he took occasion 
to remark that George H. Brewer, his father, and Abbie D. 
Twiss, a native of Charlton and a sister of Judge S. P. 
Twiss, were married fifty years ago today in the Congre- 
gational Church by Rev. John Haven. They are both here 
today. 



22 




judge Stephen P. Twiss 



Address of Judge Stephen P. Twiss. 

T assure you that nothing- can give me 
greater pleasure than to be here on this home 
day of good cheer and good wishes, of each one 
of us to all others; again to meet the sons and 
daughters of Charlton. 

It is with special pleasure that we, all of us, 
see and greet our venerable friend, the benefac- 
tor of Charlton, the town of his birth and child- 
hood. This Dexter Hall is his munificent gift 
to us and to the inhabitants of Charlton forever. 
Long may he live and be the recipient of the 
sincere and oft repeated expressions of gratitude 
for his generous beneficence. 

This is Labor Day. Old Charlton Home 
Daw It is General Salem Towne Day. A fe- 
licitous Trio, which we, her sons and daughters, 
vigorously assert, studiously appreciate and I03 
all}" c o m m e m o r a t e . 

Yes, we are all glad once more to be at home, 
around the family altar, the old family fire-place 
and hearth-stone, under the roof-tree of our 
childhood in the lap of our dear old Mother 
Charlton. Once more at home in the enjoyment 
of the social life and friendly greetings of the 
day. We all realize better than ever before, 
"there's no place like home," and no home like 
Charlton. 

We, children of Charlton, born on these 
snow clad wintry hills, or in these beautiful sunny 
valleys of alluvial meadows and meandering 
brooklets, which are interspersed with Charlton 
homes of intelligence, purity, and the ^»ul of 

23 



honor; are at our ancestral home, in the house 
of our fathers, the home of our deceased parents, 
who were born, lived, died, and buried in Charl- 
ton. Their dust is our inheritance, an ever-abid- 
ing sacred trust and charge which we loyally ac- 
cept and execute with profound reverence and 
filial affection. 

We, children of our good old Mother Charl- 
ton, brothers and sisters all, are here to celebrate 
the day, to commemorate and honor the place of 
our birth, the home of our childhood, with the 
strength of our earnest hearts and souls, to cher- 
ish the many tender memories that cluster around 
it, to re-establish and reproduce in our mental 
vision, the scenes and associations of our happy, 
innocent childhood, under the defending wing 
and watchful eye of our protecting fathers and 
loving mothers. 

The first settlers and pioneers of Charlton 
were not idlers nor drones. They were intelli- 
gent men and women of laborious and strenuous 
lives, who cheerfully accepted the hardships of 
the pioneer. The}' subdued the rebellious, un- 
broken soil, that had never known the plow or 
spade, and reduced it to their will and dominion; 
and made the wild wilderness to yield in abun- 
dance the various fruits of the earth, essentially 
necessary to their support and comfort. 

They were watchful, and wisely attentive to 
the trials, hardships and vicissitudes incident to 
an isolated frontier life. They were confronted 
by the questions and difficulties of organizing 
and establishing a town with adequate power 
and jurisdiction of local self-government reserv- 
ing to the individual all personal rights consis- 
tent with his greater good; and at the same time 

24 



best promoting the growth, development and 
welfare of the municipality — the greatest good 
of all. They proved themselves equal to the oc 
casion, to the necessities of their day and gen- 
eration, and the demands of the near future. 

With an intelligent, high-toned public spirit, 
and a true conception of the wants and welfare 
of the town, they constructed thoroughfares 
leading to the adjoining towns in all directions 
and bridges and cross roads, necessary to the 
convenience of themselves and the journeying 
stranger, and Charlton was soon at the forefront 
and rightfully held a high standing among the 
sixty-five towns of the county. 

They divided the town into three, then into 
six, and afterwards into thirteen school districts. 
They erected in each district a commodious 
schoolhouse, for the education of all children of 
school age, and maintained free public schools in 
each district from four to six months in every 
year, and successfully established in Charlton 
the free public school system which now obtains 
in all parts of our country. 

From the beginning the town stoutly re- 
sented and opposed the tyranny of ( ireat Britain, 
and duly appreciated the supreme worth oi tree 
self-government, founded upon the will oi the 
people, justice and equality. From the time oi 
the battle of Bunker Mill, Charlton was enlisted 
with all her soul and energies in resistance to 
British tyranny and oppression, and "during the 
war, out of ;i population of about thirteen hun 
dred, she furnished upwards of three hundred 
men for the Continental army, who, in the true 
spirit of the patriot soldier, well performed their 
part in the hardships of the long and weary 

25 



march and privations of the camp, and in several 
well fought battles ending with the capture of 
Burgoyne." 

During the terrible conflict for the main- 
tenance of our Government and the Union Charl- 
ton did not falter in doing her whole duty in the 
defense of the Union and Government established 
by our fathers, so close and dear to the heart of 
General Towne. She furnished two hundred and 
eighteen men for the army, which was thirteen 
more than her quota. 

The intelligent, well directed Christian home 
is a sacred enclosure against many besetting 
temptations and the corrupting influences of the 
day. It is a haven, where all, the youngest and 
the weakest, as well as the older and the strong- 
est, are protected from the storms and passions 
fiercely raging on the outside ; a harbor where all 
are safe; where the distant roaring winds and 
waves that drive ships and crews whither they 
will, do not enter; where there are no winds to 
smite or storms to destroy, but gentle breezes are 
as "rippled whispers at the bow," and confidence 
and safety rest upon the undisturbed waters. 

Such, briefly, is a symbolical description of 
the well conducted home of purity and right- 
eousness. It is the home of the pure and faith- 
ful mother, whose influence in forming the char- 
acter and giving direction to the life of those 
God has given her for this purpose, is not in our 
power to estimate adequately. The home is the 
domain of the wife and mother. She is the Queen 
of the Household. Her jurisdiction is complete. 
Love is the paramount law of her realm. Her 
love for her children is pure, disinterested, self- 
sacrificing, self-consuming, it is heavenly. It is 

26 



born in heaven but lives on earth, and has no 
earthly equal. 

"There are teachings on earth and sky and air, 
The heavens the glory of God declare; 
But louder than voice beneath, above, 
He is heard to speak through a mother's love." 

We are sometimes told that Charlton is 
boomless. conservative and old fogy, not up to 
date in modern business life and methods. Yes, 
my friends, our dear old town is slow and con- 
servative, when compared with some other 
places; she still prefers to stand out doors in the 
"wet" rather than come into a clean, pure house 
and be "dry." 

But she makes no claim to many of the so- 
called business financial activities, conspicuous 
and well understood in some of our cities. Charl- 
ton is an agricultural community, her people eat 
their bread in the sweat of their brows. Charl- 
ton has no grinding, abject poverty and destitu- 
i i< >n. no "sweat shops" where the poor and almost 
helpless women and children are compelled to 
work for less than half paw Our men of means 
and business ability are not men of overpower- 
ing greed and passion to get rich quick, in a 
heartless disregard of the comforts, health and 
life of their neighbors. Their wealth is not wit- 
ness against them; neither does the cry ol their 
employees in want and distress rise up against 
them. 

Charlton stands upon her time honored 
hill tops, in the light of the brightest sun at high 
noon; not spotless, perhaps, bul unimpeached 
and unassailed; she evades nothing; her brow is 
undisturbed. Her record is before the world 
and she is content. 

27 



There is probably no one in this hall, who 
knew General Towne so long and so well as I 
did. I have known him from my earliest recol- 
lections, seventy-six or seventy-eight years. In 
my childhood recollections of him I believed him 
to be the greatest man in the country and per- 
haps in the world. But as I grew up and went 
out into the world I soon learned that there were 
greater men than General Towne, but I never 
lost my faith in him as a great and good man. 
I have special reasons for looking back to him 
with thankfulness and gratitude. In my young 
manhood he proved himself to be my very good 
and true friend. He occasionally came into my 
office and sat for hours at a time, often giving 
invaluable advice and encouragement to a young 
man just starting in life. His talks to me were 
always instructive and interesting. There was 
never another man in this world who did so 
much to fashion and help me on in the right di- 
rection as General Towne did. And I should 
now be an ingrate if I did not remember him 
with gratitude. In some respects he made a con- 
fidant of me to a greater extent than to any other 
young man in Charlton or elsewhere I believe. 

He was an all-around wise and safe man in 
public affairs. I remember well, that he was al- 
ways present at our town meetings and took an 
active interest in them. He was always right, in 
public, social and moral affairs. And in national 
affairs the results of the last lift)* or sixty years 
have proven that he was generally right there. 
He was among the very first enlisted in the cause 
of temperance, He was sincerely opposed to the 
manufacture, sale and use of intoxicating liquors 

28 



as a beverage and to the traffic in the same, and 
consistently continued so until his death. 

In the early days of the anti-slavery agita- 
tion, or, as it was then called, the abolition move- 
ment, he was stoutly and unchangeably opposed 
to the institution of slavery and was in favor ol 
confining it within the limits of the states in 
which it was permitted by the Constitution of 
the United States, lie believed slavery to be a 
curse and a scourge to the country, to the people 
of the north as well as to the people of the south, 
white and black, bond or tree, and thai sometime 
and in some way which he did not profess to 
know God in his providence would wipe it out 
of existence. But at all events, slavery or no 
slavery he was in favor of maintaining the Con- 
stitution of the United States in its integrity 
as the paramount law of the land. 

Salem Tow tie was born during the hardships 
and privations of the American Revolution. The 
Constitution of the United States was adopted 
during his childhood, but not so long before his 
earl_\ manhood that he did not have some under- 
standing of the great and unspeakable cost in 
life and treasure of the achievement of inde- 
pendence. He undoubtedly carried with him 
to his death recollections of many events ol those 
inciting, stirring and formative days — the be 
ginning of the Great Republic, lie must have 
been an interested listener to much of the folk- 
lore of the days of his childhood and youth. As 
he ripened into maturity, the theories and prin 
ciples of Washington, Hamilton, Adams, [efifer 
son, Marshall and Madison of and about the Con 
stitution, then new and untried, were undoubt 
edly read by him, with what avidity we cannot 

90 



assert, but we have good reason to believe that 
he early in life had a good understanding of the 
working machinery and powers of the Constitu- 
tion and of many of the most important ques- 
tions, policies and measures both of the people 
and of Congress, and of the support or opposi- 
tion of the early administrations, among which 
notably the Louisiana Purchase, the troubles with 
France, the antagonistic positions of Hamilton 
and Jefferson over the same; the vexatious and 
unparalleled offensive conduct of Edward 
Charles Genet, representative of the French 
republic. The election of Jefferson to the 
presidency over Burr, the killing of Hamilton by 
Burr with murderous intent in a duel, the trial 
and acquittal of Burr on charge of treason against 
the United States, were very much alive and 
burning questions of the day. 

The Civil war was commenced and carried 
on against the Government by the united and 
desperate energy of eleven states of the Union, 
with the design and purpose of extending the 
territorial domain of slavery and of fixing and 
strengthening its powers with express and abso- 
lute certainty; by erecting a confederacy upon 
the ruins of the Union, with slavery one of its 
chief corner stones. He was alive to the 
transcendent importance of the issue, and would 
have the Government with all of its powers crush 
slavery forever out of our national life and being. 

Never under any circumstances whatever 
would he tolerate the thought of the possibility 
of the dissolution of the Union. With him it 
was a union, not only of the fathers, it was in 
part his union with his brothers and friends, the 
companions of his childhood and youth, cemented 

30 



by the people, to which was added imperceptibly 
the one small mite; the youthful voice and zeal 
of young Salem Towne. 

From what we know of his record and ca- 
reer, we must believe that he without doubt or 
hesitation was in full accord and sympathy with 
the teaching's, principles and measures of Wash- 
ington, Hamilton, Marshall and Madison. lie 
accepted the Constitution as his polar star and 
compass, and afterwards with Webster the Union 
was to him "one and inseparable now and for- 
ever." And still later with almost inexpressible 
joy he heard the declaration of the Supreme 
Court that it is "An indestructible Union com- 
posed of indestructible states.*' 

He never shrank from the opinion that the 
eleven states, notwithstanding their ordinances 
of secession and their hundreds of thousands ol 
soldiers on the field in their support were never 
out of the Union. That our good old Constitu- 
tion still lives and supplemented by the Thir- 
teenth and Fourteenth Amendments is the 
crowning glory of all human legislation. His 
hope of the future of this country rested on the 
loyalty of the people to the Constitution and the 
Union. He believed the Constitution would be 
preserved and slavery destroyed within the 
Union and he lived to see the realization of his 
belief and hope. The results of the war showed 
that he was right. Slavery is destroyed and the 
Union is preserved and lives and will live forever 
until time shall he no more. 

In the>e few wmls and thoughts which \ 
have presented to you I have endeavored to por 
tray the character, private life and public career 
of General Salem Towne. And if he were alive 



31 



and standing by me dictating what I should say, 
I believe I have said nothing which he would 
not approve. Much of what I have said in sub- 
stance he expressed to me in personal conversa- 
tions. For several years I have had in my mind 
the thought of presenting a portrait of General 
Towne to the town of Charlton. When 1 look 
hack upon his various acts of kindness to me, 1 
feel that I am in a small way paying the debt 
which I owe to his memory, and I sincerely 
thank you for your manifest approval of the act. 



Note. — The Spencer Leader of Sept. 10 contained 
the following comments of the events of the celehration 
of Charlton Old Home Day which preceded the ad- 
dresses given in these pages : 

"For the thirteenth time old Charlton welcomed back 
her sons and daughters on the occasion of the annual 
reunion and old home day. Labor day. The affair was a 
grand success, being attended by about 3,000 people. It 
was conceded by all that this year surpassed all previous 
celebrations. The spirit of old home day was in the very 
air and every one seemed impressed with the desire to 
grasp by the hand as many old acquaintances as possible 
and the pleasure on the faces of the oldest present at see- 
ing old friends whom they had not seen for perhaps half a 
century was apparent to even a casual observer. Chaf- 
tin's orchestra furnished music for the day and gave an 
open air concert at 10:00 a. m. The illustrated lecture 
given by Lawyer ('has. S. Dodge of Worcester attracted 
many. Dinners were served at eleven, twelve and one 
o'clock and banquet hall was filled each time and the 
tables set again at two p. m." 



32 



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